Aeroplane.



l.: MARSCHALL.

Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l l /l l/ l/l lat ttozmew L= MARSCHAL-L.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 51 l9l8.

3 SHEETS-SHEETB.

2 F Wuewek m1, @Ho/141213 www LUDWIG- MAIRSCHALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AEROILANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

' Application led April 5, 1918. Serial No. 226,870.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUDWIG MARSCHALL, a subject of the German Emperor, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to flying machines1 particularly those heavier than air and has for its object to provide means which will prevent the falling of the machine when the same in rlsing steeply reaches a critical angle, when the motor stops owing to an accident or the pilot fails at the proper instant to adjust the rudders.

When an aeroplane rises steeply it often happens that when the machine reaches a' certain critical angle, it hasthe tendency to fall and unless the rudder is adjusted in time to bring the ship back into poise, an accident occurs.

It is, therefore, another object of my invention to construct the above named means so that they will always tend to automatically restore the ship into a state of poise.

With these and other objects inview, my invention consistsin the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing in which similar reference characters denote correspondin parts and in which Figure 1 is a longitudmal vertical section of an aeroplane; Fig. 2 an enlarged section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1 showing a part of a neumatic mechanism; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of l Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation of the pneumatically controlled rudder operating mechanism; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal horizontal section showing the pneumatically controlled rudder operating mechanism in a planview; Fig. 6 is an elevation of the auxiliary rudder operating mechanism, and Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are diagrams illustrating the operation of my new device.

In the drawing a ldenotes the body 'bf an airship of the type heavier than air which, as usually, is equipped with the propeller b and with the rudder c controlled by a rod d through a handle e in front of thepilot seat f. g denotes the motor driving the propeller b. h denotes one of the planes. Ordinarily the rudder c is manipulated fromvthe drivers seat by means of the lever or handle e through the medium of the rod d to tilt the former either upwardly or downwardly according as it is desire'd to ascend 0r descend. While the rudder is tilted upwardly and the motor` is working, the machine rises and if in risingit surpasses a certain critical angle from the horizontal, it may happen as it frequently does, that either for lack of presence ofA the following manner:

I provide an air compressor or'pump of usual construction which is driven from the motor g. During the operation of the motor, compressed air will be contmuously pumped through pipes j, lc into the air cylinder Z, so that the piston m thereof will be maintained in the elevated position shown in Figs. 2 and 3.y The cylinder Z has an opening Z or openings in or near its bottom so admeasuredthat the excess of compressed air entering the cylinder during the continuous operation of the motor will be allowed to escape,I leaving there only so much air or such pressure as w1ll be suliicient to holdthe piston at the extreme end of its upward stroke. The piston rod m may be actuated by a spring m2 or other suitable means which will tend to move the piston downwardly.

Arranged at the sides of the rudder actuating handle e are levers n, n ful'crumed on the spindle of the handle e and each carrying a stop na.' Normally, that is when the motor is working, the levers fn., n are occupying inclined positions relative to the handle`,.so that the handle e is entirely free to be swung the full extent required for the proper manipulation of the rudder c.

The two levers n, n are connected by rods o, o to gears p, p respectively, whlch gears are of equal size and in meshing connection. One of the gears, as p is connected by a rod g to the piston rod m so that the v p, by reason of its meshing connection, will receive an equal rotation in the opposite direction, in consequence of which the rod n on the opposite side of the handle e will similarly swing into the vertical position.

ln this position, the two arms or levers n' will engage with theirl stops na, the handle e and thus lock it in vertical position which is the normal, that is to say one in which the rudder c is parallel to the direction of flight. lf the rudder c happens to beadjusted for ascent, then the handle e will, according to the construction shown, be inclined forwardly. Should the motor stop while the ship is thus ascending, the pneumatic mechanism will as herebefore described move the levers or arms from the inclined into the vertical position and the forward arm 'n' meeting with its stop na the handle c will raise the latter into vertical position restoring thereby the rudder c to its normal position, so that the ship will automatically be brought into poise. The same thing will happen -to the handle if inclined rearwardly for the downward position of the rudder c or the descent of the ship.

The safety device just described is of great usefulness when the ship in rising or sinking reaches a critical angle, and when during the accidental stoppage of the motor the driver should have lost his presence of mind, or for any other reason be unable to at once manipulate or readjust the rudder.

But frequently the ship, in orderto speedily reach a certa-in height, is brought to a critical angle, and While the motor continues to operate the propeller, the planes fail to support the ship by reason of the steep inclination of the ship, as a result of which the ship rapidly drops to the ground.v

To avoid such accidents, I provide the following auxiliary safety device:

Arranged somewhat above the ordinary rudder c to tilt vertically as the latter is an additional rudder c. The latter is fulcrumed to a bracket a of the ship, and is connected by means of a rod al to an arm e mounted on the spindle e of the handle e. The arm e is in form of an angular lever (Fig. 6), the free arm of which carries a weight 71 or is actuated by other suitable means so that the arm will always have the tendency to occupy a position in which the rudder c is in normal position or a position parallel to the direction of flight. The arm e' is allowed to swing between twostops s, s arranged at an angle to one another (Figs.

4 and e).

which by a rod u is connected to a cam oreccentric fv. The latter is fixed on a spindle fw which is parallel to the axes of the gears p, p and which has fixed to it a gear .fr meshing with the gears p, p. The gear is so admeasured that it will make a full revolution during the short turn given to.the gears p, p. Consequently when the gears. p, p and are operated, the lever u will move once up and then down. The lever t has a stop t which is capable of engaging the arm e if the latter happens to lie in its path and swing it backupwardly against i which, as hasl been stated, by reason of the critical angle, is no more supported by her planes, is dropping aft down. ln consequence of the resistance offered by rudder c, the ship will be gradually tilted into a posiwill support her and prevent an accident'. This auxiliary safety device will thus automatically tend to restore the ship to normal position at the instant the ship adopts a fatal angle, which by reason o f the suddenness with which this occurs can often notbe avoided by the driver.

For the downward Hight, which very rarely, if at all, is carried out at an acute angle, the auxiliary device is only useful in case of accident to or stoppage of the motor.

Assuming that the machine descends at an angle of more than 45 from the horizontal as shown in Fig. 9, and the motor has stopped. The planes having ceased to support the machine, the latter would tend to drop fore down. Now the auxiliary rudder, owing to the weight r would first be restored to the normal position, indicated by full lines. But by the movement imparted to the lever t, as heretofore described, the latter would on engaging with its stop. t the arm e raise the latter, and consequently the rudder c into the dotted line position, s0 that the rudder c will now offer a resisttion more favorable where the planes again ree ance to the air in front of it and cause the' the piston m move downward rapidly, so

that the ruddersmay be adjusted instantaneously. To this end valves 1 y may be provided in the cylinder Z below the piston con- Mtl trolling larger escape openings Z2 which will be opened automatically as soon as the piston m begins its descent and which will remain open until the motor is restarted and the piston m begins to rise again.

In the present example the valves y, y are operated by levers 1 fulcrumed at 2. Projecting downwardly from the piston m are cam-shaped guides 3 which, during the descent of the piston, will engage pins 1 or the like on the upper ends of the levers l and swinging the latter outwardly open the valves y, y. The bottom ends 3 of the guides are so constructed as to yield in one direction, so that when the pins slide down the inner faces 32 of the guides during the upward movement of the piston, they will be allowed to pass below said guide surfaces and occupy the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The pins 1 of the levers 1, duringthe downward motion of the piston, will move along the inclines 3 and thereby bring about an opening of the valves which will be maintained in open position as long as the pins 12 slide along the outer vertical sides 33 of the guides. From the moment they reach the upper inclined surfaces 34 the valves y begin to close and remain closed until the piston on reaching the upper position is again actuated by reason of the stoppage of the motor.

The construction just described is only an example and I do not wish to limit myself to the details thereof.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

i 1. In an airship, the combination with the handle of a manually operated rudder and -a motor, of a chamber inclosing a piston erated rudder, air controlled means, means y operatively connected to said rudder and to said air controlled means, an air compressor operated :from said motor and controlling said first'named means in such a manner that during the working of the motor the said means will remain ineflective but when the motor stops the same receive a motion and impart it to the rudder.

3. In an airship, a motor, a manually operated rudder, air controlled means operatively connected to said rudder, a compressor actuated from said motor and controlling said air controlled means in such llletlIlS a manner that during the operation of thc motor said means will remain ineffective but when the iiiotoi' stops will become operative.

et. In an airship, a motor, a rudder, including a manually operated lever therefor a pneumatic means actuated from said motor, controlled from said pneumatic means only when the motor stops and means operatively connected to said rudder and to said second named means including members capable of engaging the said lever and move the latter to change the position of the said rudder.

In an airship, a motor, a rudder, a compressor actuated by said motor, a chamber inclosing a piston controlled from said conipressor so that during the working of the motor the said piston will be continuously maintained in one of its end positions but .when the motor stops the same will move to the opposite end position and means intervening between said air controlled piston and said rudder whereby when said piston move; to the opposite end position the position .if the rudder will be changed.

(i. In an airship. a motor, a handle of a manually operated rudder, a compressor actuated by said motor, a chamber inclosiiig a piston controlled from said compressor so that during` the working of the motor the piston will be maintained in one of its end positions but when the motor stops the same will receive a motion to the opposite end position and means controlled from said piston and capable of operating said handle to impart a motion to the rudder.

7. In an airship, a motor, a rudder, gravity controlled means for automatically moving the said rudder, pneumatic means actuated by said motor, a piston controlled from said pneumatic means so as to be ineffective when'said motor is in .operation but to receive a motion when the motor stops and means operated from said piston and capable of moving said gravity controlled means.

8. In an airship, a motor, a rudder, grav- Vity controlled means for automatically movtive when the motor is in operation and to receive a motion when the motor stops and means connected to said pistonand capable of engaging said gravity controlled meansl to move the latter and said rudder.

S). In an airship, a motor, a main manilally operated rudder, an auxiliary gravity controlled rudder, means controlled from said motor so as to be -ineiective while the motor is in operation but -to receive a motion when the motor stops and means operated from said motor controlled means and capable of transferring motion to each of the said rudders.

10. In an aeroplane, a motor, a rudder,

gravity controlled means tending to maintain said rudder in normal position, means for limiting the movement of said rudder when a certain angle of inclination of the ship is reached, pneumatic means actuated by said motor and a piston controlled from seid pneumatic means so as to receive a. motion only when the motor stops and impart said motion to said rudder so that at a certain inclination of the ship the said motion lo of the rudder will restore its equilibriunl.

In testimony whereof- I aiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

LUDWlG MARSCH ALL.

lWitnesses FRED. J. GRIESMER, MAX D. URDMANN. 

